


Waiting

by carolej126



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-11 03:27:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15306447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolej126/pseuds/carolej126
Summary: Written in 2004 for the Sentinel Angst List.It wasn't the waiting.  It was waiting alone.





	Waiting

Blair leaned back slightly in his brown cushioned chair, allowing his gaze to wander around the room. A typical waiting room, he mused. Painted in sterile white, it had been decorated with fake plants, and featured a brown carpet with a slightly worn path leading to the examination rooms in the back area. Monet-style garden scenes adorned the walls, and magazines that had seen better days were lined up in neat rows on top of the low wooden coffee tables.

With a sigh, Blair shifted his attention to the other people in the room.

An elderly couple occupied the chairs against the wall on the far end of the room. Both were holding magazines in their hands, the man lifting the reading material closer to his bespectacled eyes. The woman, her thoughts obviously elsewhere, stared sightlessly at the text in front of her.

Dressed in jeans and a blue t-shirt, a young man paced in front of the windows that looked out over the large parking lot. He paused once to study something out of Blair's view, then resumed his pacing, a frown on his face. An equally young woman watched him silently with red-rimmed eyes, perched on the edge of her chair. As the man drew close to her seat, the brunette motioned for him to join her, but he shook her off with an abrupt wave of his hand.

A middle-aged woman, seated near the receptionist's counter, rested her head against the wall, her arms wrapped around her purse as she dozed. A grey-haired man, presumably her husband or significant other, sat beside her, his hands rigidly folded in his lap.

"Hembree?"

Several breaths were exhaled in unison, and all eyes watched as the woman opened her eyes and got sluggishly to her feet. Accompanied by the older man, she followed the white-garbed staff member back into the examining area.

The elderly couple went back to their reading, the young man continued his pacing, the young woman finally sat back in her chair, and Blair swallowed nervously.

The waiting was the hardest, Blair decided. Making the appointment hadn't been so tough, and getting through the examination, as painful as it was expected to be, would be a relief after the days of anticipation, but the waiting... The waiting was almost unbearable.

*If you have been waiting for more than 20 minutes past your scheduled appointment time, please let us know.*

Blair blinked at the top placard, attached to the wall beside the cashier's window, then checked his watch. Seventeen minutes, almost eighteen. He shrugged. Maybe they forgot about me. Maybe I should go up to the desk, ask if I need to reschedule. He snorted. And maybe I should just keep waiting.

The young man across the room suddenly turned around and rapidly crossed the room, heading for a door marked 'family restroom.' The door closed with a firm *click* behind him. In the near silence of the waiting room, the noise sounded as loud as a gunshot.

"Rivamonte?"

Setting aside their magazines, the elderly couple got to their feet, the man carefully, gently, assisting his wife, making sure her balance was steady before letting go. The woman looked up at him, her lined face creasing in a smile that made her seem years younger. She placed her hand into the crook of his elbow, and side by side the two disappeared down the hallway.

The bathroom door opened and the young man exited, still drying his hands. He paused in the doorway, turning to toss the used towel into the trash receptacle, before taking the seat next to the dark-haired woman. His eyes only met Blair's for a brief second. Sandburg didn't blame him, knowing the uncertainty he saw in the other man's eyes could be easily read in his own.

*All patients must provide a picture ID and insurance card before being seen by our staff.*

Blair pulled out his insurance card, double-checking the information typed there, even though he knew it was accurate, before replacing it in his wallet. His eyes slid to the third placard.

*Payment must be made in full at time of appointment.*

No big surprise there. Blair shifted his gaze to the three women working behind the dividing partition, separating patient from caregiver, ill from healthy.

A blond pony-tailed woman was seated on a revolving stool, holding a phone to her ear, nodding and murmuring as she listened to the person at the other end of the line. A short, slightly overweight dark-haired woman in purple scrubs thumbed through a large filing cabinet, bantering with the third woman, handing her several file folders as they laughed back and forth.

Blair sighed. It didn't seem right that the three women should be acting as if they didn't have a worry in the world, when he was still waiting.

Twenty-five minutes. This isn't like college, Blair reminded himself, where students were only expected to wait for a short time before deciding the prof wasn't going to make an appearance. No, the doctor is just running behind schedule. Maybe a patient had shown up at the office late, or maybe the patient currently being seen had needed more information, more encouragement, about their medical condition.

Blair picked up one of the dog-eared magazines from the table in front of him, hoping to find a distraction, if only temporarily, but within seconds found himself placing it back down, uninterested in five year old fashion and cooking tips.

"I'll be right back."

Looking up at the unexpected voice, Blair watched as one of the women from behind the partition made her way to the drinking fountain against the wall. She pushed the button, lowering her lips to the arcing flow of water as Sandburg watched. For a brief moment he considered getting a drink himself, but then remembered the "nothing by mouth" admonition he'd received. He licked his lips, almost able to taste the drips of water cascading into the silver bowl and disappearing into the drain, unwanted.

"Sewell?"

The young man quickly got to his feet, followed more slowly by the woman beside him, and both made their way toward the back.

I'm next, Blair thought to himself, feeling a mixture of relief and anxiety at the idea, wiping his suddenly damp palms on his jeans. It wasn't the waiting, he suddenly realized in reflection. He eyed the empty chair next to him wistfully. No, it wasn't the waiting, it was the waiting alone.

*Ring.*

Blair jumped slightly, his eyes widening as he fumbled through his backpack, finally freeing his cell phone and raising it to his ear.

"Sandburg."

"Hey, Chief."

The sound of Jim's voice brought a smile to Blair's face. "Hey, Jim." He clutched the phone a little tighter, cementing the connection between Sentinel and Guide.

"See the doc yet?"

"Nope," Blair sighed. "I'm still waiting."

"Me, too, but I think I'll be called in a few minutes. Rafe and H have already given their testimonies, Megan is in there right now, and I should be next." Jim's voice softened, shifting from business-like to personal. "How are you doing?"

"Nervous," Blair admitted. He thought for a moment. "And hungry."

"Hungry?"

"No food after ten o'clock, remember?"

"Yeah, sorry."

"No big deal. At least you didn't decide to have breakfast at the loft; that would have killed me."

"Chief?"

"Yeah?"

"You know I wanted to go to your appointment with you."

Blair smiled. "I know, but I'm doing okay. Besides, I don't think the judge would have been too happy if you hadn't shown up."

"Probably not. Look, if I get finished soon enough, I'll head over and-"

"No, it's okay, Jim," Blair interrupted. "I'll just meet you at home as planned, and give you all the details."

"Sandburg, I-" Jim's voice cut off abruptly, and Blair could hear a voice speaking in the background. "Chief, I've got to go."

"Sandburg?"

"Coming," Blair called to the young man holding the clipboard and looking around the room expectantly. "Me, too, Jim," he said into the phone. "They just called my name."

"Okay, Chief. Hang in there, buddy, everything's going to work out just fine."

Blair nodded, even though Jim couldn't see him. "I will."

"Oh, Sandburg?"

"Yeah?"

"I'll have dinner waiting for you when you get home."

Blair smiled as he closed the phone, replacing it in his bag, and headed for the examination area.

Strange, he mused. I know Jim's miles away, but suddenly I don't feel so alone anymore.

 

~end~


End file.
